After more than a day of traveling, Xia You and May finally crossed the ridge of Mt. Coronet.
From there, it was all downhill, which would naturally be much easier than climbing up.
But before heading down, Xia You had one more thing to do.
That was to meet up with Shelly and Courtney.
He remembered giving the two of them orders to keep a constant watch on developments at Mt. Coronet and continue searching for the Team Galactic Base, cooperating with the International Police.
As it happened, the two were also investigating Mt. Coronet now, so after discussing it with them, they decided to meet somewhere and see each other in person.
Although they could usually stay in touch through video calls, some things were more convenient to discuss face-to-face, and easier to explain clearly that way.
Of course, the main reason was that these two were no longer simply his subordinates. His relationships with them had grown closer and more complicated, so some emotional connection was necessary, too.
He couldn't keep leaving them off to one side and ignoring them for long stretches like before.
As the elevation rose, the air around them grew colder.
Even their exhaled breath turned into white mist before their faces.
The trees around them began to thin sharply, replaced by smooth rocks weathered by wind and rain, and a snow line that was beginning to appear.
May had to change into winter clothes to fend off the chill.
Xia You, on the other hand, had abundant internal warmth thanks to Ho-Oh's blessing and seemed utterly unconcerned by the falling temperature.
That made May terribly envious.
As it turned out, Shelly and Courtney weren't at a particularly high elevation. Xia You merely climbed one of the peaks and easily found their makeshift campsite